Safety bathing apparatus



(No Model.)

H. SG'HMEELK. SAFETY BATHING APPARATUS.

Patented Dec. 26, 1882.

= Inward-0v flllorneg end of the bathing season-and whereby, also,

Urn-rain STATES PATENT @rrrca.

HERMANN M. SOHMEELK, OF ROCKAWAY BEACH, NEW YORK.

SAFETY BATHING APPARATUS..

$P.ECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,600, dated December 26, 1882.

Application filed August 9,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, HERMANN M. SOHMEELK, of Rockaway Beach, in the township of Hem pstead, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Safety Bathing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a more efficient means of preserving lifeand insuring safety in beach-bathing than is afforded by the ordinary surf-line, and also to insure in such an apparatus an elasticity or resiliency which will enable the parts to resume their original positions after being bent or sprung by the weight or force of the bathers exerted upon them.

My said invention comprises certain novel combinations of parts whereby these advantages are secured, and whereby, furthermore, the apparatus may be very readily taken apart-as, for example, when desired at the it can be very readily reconstructed or put together again when required for use.

Figure l is a perspective view representing an apparatus constructed according to my said invention, and Figs.2 and 3 are detail sectional views illustrating certain parts of the said apparatus.

A A are vertical elastic or resilient posts formed of iron pipes driven into the sand to any requisite depth, the character of these pipes being such as to combine great strength and lightness with the property of yielding readily, within certainlimits, to lateral strain, and again resuming their position when relieved from such strain. These posts A are arranged in two substantially parallel rows, the tops of the posts of one row being connected with those of the other by a cross-bar, a b. The posts, with their cross-bars, (instead of two cross-bars, a b, to each post, only one cross-bar maybe used when pret'erred,) constitute a frame-work which is extended at any necessary distance from the beach and more orless parallel thereto-in other words, in about the situation which, in any given locality, the surf-line is usually placed. This frame-work possesses suflicientstability to resist the strain exerted upon it by the action of the bathers, as hereinafter explained, and at the sametime ferent from that of ordinary posts,and which also possess a flexibility in proportion to their length and weight very much greater thanthat derived from the use of posts or piles of ordinary construction;

Placed upon each end of each of the crossbars a is a sleeve, 0, which holds snugly upon the cross-bar, in order that it may not slip longitudinally thereon. The upper part of each sleeve is constructed with a peculiar clamp, as follows: Two lugs, 0, parallel with each other and having a space, d, between them, project upward from the ring in planes parallel with the length of the cross-bar a. In these lugs are two coincident slots, at, and one of said lugs, moreover, is constructed with a small ear or nut, I), through which is screwed a set-screw, 0. Placed in the lower part of the space 01 is a clamping-block,c,in the under side of which is a semicircular notch, d, which is coincident with a similar notch, 0, formed in the bottom space, (I. A wedge or key, D, is passed into and through the slot a in such manner that when said key is driven inward it will force downward the clamping-block c to grip the cable placed in or between the coincident notches d and c.

E E are cables which are extended through the gripping devices, as just explained, and thereby firmly-attached to the ends of the crossbars a by the driving inward of the keys D, as just explained.

In order that the cables may themselves brace the frame-work composed of the posts A and their cross-pieces,one end of each cable is provided with an anchor, F. These anchors are preferably composed of bent pipe, and have each but a single hook and a single cross-piece, f, so that when the anchors are dug into sand they are partially or wholly filled with the sand itself, and take a much firmer grip thereon than would be possible if the ordinary anchor were used for such purpose. As concerns this peculiarly-constructed anchor, however, considered apart from its combination with the cable, the posts, and the clamping devices, I

propose to secure the same by separate and present application do not claim the anchor by itself. The opposite or shore end of the series of posts A has attached to it a winding drum or roller, G, which may be actuated by a suitable crank, 71,. This drum Gr, previous to the driving in of the keys D, as hereinbefore explained, is operated to draw the cables E sufiiciently taut for the purposes for which they are designed, which done, the keysDare driven in.

Each of the cables E has at intervals along its length branch ropes or safety-lines I, the outer ends of which swing free and clear, and are designed to float or drift in the water, so as to be within easy access to the bathers and to HifOId a ready and convenient means by which the batbers may connect themselves to the cables E, these floating or drifting safetylines I being much more easily reached and grasped than is possible with the ordinary surfline.

By the means aforesaid greatly-increased safety is insured to bathers and the probability of accident is greatly diminished. At the end of the season, or at any other time when desired, the apparatus may be readily taken down and justas readily replaced on occasion, and the apparatus itself, from its flexible and yielding character. combined with stability and strength, is extremely well adapted to resist the rough action of the surf upon i \Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. A safety bathing apparatus comprising as its essential features a series of vertical posts formed of wrought-metal tubes driven into the sand or beach-bottom, a cable or cables, E, extended alongthe upper ends of said posts, and lite-lines I, attached at intervals along the said cable, the whole arranged for use and operation substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The sleeves 0, provided with the slotted lugs a, clan'iping-block 0, and key D, in combination with the, crossbars a, posts A, and cable or cables E, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

The combination of an anchor, 1 cable 3, hollow resilient posts A, and clamping devices t'or connecting the cable to the post, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

4. The combination of the drum or roller G, the hollow resilient posts A, cables E, crosspieces a, and sleeves 0, having the lugs a, clamping-block e, and key D, all substantially as and for the purpose herein setforth.

lllDl-IMANN M. SCHMEELK.

Witnesses:

THOMAS E. CROSSMAN, RUDoLF BJELLMAN. 

